Teramachi-dori Nijo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0915
Tel. +81 75 211 3421
Shop : 9am to 7pm (6pm on Sundays and holidays) – Tearoom 11am to 5pm
www.ippodo-tea.co.jp
Subway to City Hall.

Ippodo's shopfront on Teramachi St.
Nothing much outside that I can read indicates that this is the place I am looking for, but as soon as I step through the sliding doors into the Ippodo tea shop I am struck by a sense of having arrived at The Source. Ladies in brown aprons and white headscarves are scooping different varieties of Japanese green tea, and ONLY green tea, from large tins onto scales and into tea caddies with the utmost respect and attention.
The Mecca of Japanese green tea, founded in 1717, Ippodo means “preserve one”, a name bestowed on the shop by Prince Yamashina of the Imperial household in 1846 in the hope that it would always provide only the most supreme quality teas. The Uji district of Kyoto prefecture, with its ideal climate, has been growing premium tea for over 800 years, and the traditional Japanese tea ceremony originated in Kyoto.

Entering the Mecca of Japanese green tea
Ippodo sells green tea and nothing but green tea: traditionally blended matcha, gyokoro, sencha and bancha in a range of qualities and prices, and there is a menu and instructions in English on how to prepare the teas.
You can also buy utensils, although the matcha whisks and scoops are slightly cheaper at Bamtera (see below) and are so obviously made, and sold, with love, that I preferred to buy mine there. At Ippodo, I resisted (for now) the tiny round metal box containing a sieve with a bamboo spatula for removing any lumps from the matcha powder before preparing it. Details, details…
You can purchase a matcha starter kit for newcomers to the bright green powder, but as a complete matcha virgin, I decided to head for the shop’s tearoom, take a seat inside Japan’s temple of green tea, and learn directly from the staff. The tradition in the Kaboku Tearoom is that customers prepare their own tea. Since the end result depends on three things – the tea leaves, the water and the preparation – Ippodo provides the first two, and you provide the third.

Teatime in Kyoto
The neighbourhood
Strolling up Teramachi Street looking for Ippodo, wondering if I might have missed it hidden away behind one of the many shop fronts with strictly Japanese only signs, I discovered many other treasures. The part of Teramachi Street running north from City Hall is quiet and low-rise, with antique shops and artisanal boutiques wholly dedicated to a single craft like bamboo carving, pottery or paper-making.
The Bamtera Bamboo & Wood shop sells chasen whisks with neat little ceramic stands to store them on and protect the fronds, matcha tea scoops and other utensils, carved from one of nature’s most multifunctional materials, yet dedicated to one sole and unique purpose.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Read Full Post »